How it all went pear shaped…
2015 Long-standing customer William Sinclair Holdings goes into
administration leaving the group with a £1m debt.
This is addressed via the company’s discount invoicing facility.
However, this creates cashflow problems and leads to the sale and leaseback of two large sites.
May 2017 Canute is informed that a major long-standing contract (Wilko) is to
be terminated in September 2017.
This represents more than 30% of group revenue at this time (£30m).
August 2017 The business’s loss-making materials division is sold to Eddie
Stobart.
September 2017 Canute refinances with Aldermore Invoice Finance (AIF),
completing on 28 January 2018.
Before this, HMRC issues winding-up petitions against the group for £1.55m in respect of unpaid PAYE and VAT.
The taxman is repaid and the petitions dismissed following the refinancing.
January/February 2018 Immediately after the refinancing another large customer quits.
A drop in turnover and quiet trading period leads to a cash crunch, which is compounded after a £1m cash deposit is held while Canute transfers to a new clearing bank.
23 February 2018 HMRC issues new petitions for £780,000 in PAYE.
These are withdrawn as Canute’s directors have issued Notice of Intentions to settle the
debt.
15 March 2018 AIF makes an application to appoint administrators in a bid to exit
the business.
A return hearing date is set for 11 April. Efforts to market Canute for sale get under way.
26 March 2018 No formal offers for the business are made.
The application for interim O-licences under Almtone is begun in case administration is
unavoidable.
29 March 2018 The group completes another refinancing.
The intention is to repay AIF in full.
Personal guarantees secured against the property of Canute directors Arthur Marshall, Noel Marshall and
Steve Ely secure £3.9m from Nucleus.
10 April 2018 Canute Haulage Group director Noel Marshall issues a statement
after staff wages are paid late blaming the move to a new bank.
It comes as the Almtone O-licences enter the public domain.
Marshall tells staff that the company’s previous funder had obliged Canute to apply for “a number of
changes to be made to our O-licences and structures.
Nobody should be alarmed about this process”.
11 April 2018 AIF submits a request to withdraw its application for administration.
Nucleus attends the hearing and effectively replaces AIF.
11 May 2018 The firm is placed into administration with FRP Advisory handling affairs.
12 May 2018 Canute Haulage Group is sold in a pre-pack sale to Almtone.
6 December 2018 Almtone-owned Canute Group has narrowly avoided being wound up by HMRC after the taxman raised a petition against it.
This came as the amount the firm owed to creditors ballooned to more than £135,000.
13 December 2018 Almtone-owned Canute Group will cease trading ahead of Christmas with the loss of 600-plus jobs, after attempts to revive the business in May via a controversial pre-pack sale failed.
